Peer Pressure

[Neonspinnazz]

One day I came home from school. The Driver's Ed teacher had said something about buying a car that day.
The 1st car that popped to my mind was the Smart car. I immediately went on the web to continue my suspended research on the cool looking, interesting, and smart cars.
After being completely sure that I wanted a Smart, I went to school and at lunch break and a couple classes, I proudly declared that I wanted a Smart car.
Their reactions were:

Negative responses:
1. are you kidding!
2. They are sooo unsafe!
3. the truck i'm gonna get will smash that tiny car!
4. various cuss words.
5. various laughs
6. I would rather ride a motorcycle without a helmet in the winter than drive those things!

Positive responses:
1. I've forgotten about those cars.
2. Tell me More!
3. yeah, they're pretty cool
4. SAFE!

Then again, I went to Homecoming last weekend and 2 Juniors(3rd yr) a guy and his girlfriend showed up in a bumblebee Passion with the stereo on high. I'd say that that Smart out beat the limo that came and the 50ft Motorhome party bus with 30+ teens packed up inside!

I'd have to admit that they did stray me away from a Smart for like, 2 weeks. The cars I had in mind then were Scions or a Ford Mustang GT. But that Homecoming night and this PERFECT discussion forum, motivated me to be wanting a Smart car more than ever!
Some people have Smarts with unfortunate flaws, but I am convinced that I really don't care.

[smartHHO]

Good Attitude. I have always had the attitude of "I don't care what ppl think" and I have done fine and been happy with my decisions. Everyone has their Opinion and that is just what it is. If you want a Smart, go and reserve one. Don't ask others what they think about the smart, most of the feedback you get will be negative. I get a lot of that from work and most is "You won't survive a crash in that." Well, the problem is with most people out in the world, they talk out their A$$ especially when they are misinformed by others that have not even looked up the car or the information on it. All they have ever seen is that 70MPH crash on Utube which does nothing but scare the Crap out of them. But if you see a lot of car crashes, IE photos, you would get the uneasy feeling also. If you want a Smart, then go get it. And by all means, take what you hear with a grain of salt. And before you act on any information, check it out first. And remember, Opinions are like A Holes, everyone has one.

[Orphan-Beggar]

Originally Posted by Neonspinnazz

Then again, I went to Homecoming last weekend and 2 Juniors(3rd yr) a guy and his girlfriend showed up in a bumblebee Passion with the stereo on high. I'd say that that Smart out beat the limo that came and the 50ft Motorhome party bus with 30+ teens packed up inside!
But that Homecoming night and this PERFECT discussion forum, motivated me to be wanting a Smart car more than ever!

Bravo-May you have your smart by Prom night!

[jefferios]

Same situation for me at Iowa State Neon. Get the Smart (and get in line. ) You'll be very happy.

[Dave Van]

I have a lot of cars....my two Smarts are the coolest cars in the fleet and the only ones I have to fight to get! Add to it you keep LOTS more cash in the pockets than with a Mustang or even Scions!

[jediknight36]

every high school kid wants a Mustang GT. Trust me. Im not that far off from H.S. and I just stopped driving H.S. students around. I would tell you what to show them, but they wont listen. You will get due respect when you pull up in your sick smart getting 41mpgs and all the chixorz will be all over that bizautch. Smart= chick magnet. Even H.S. chicks know all sports cars do is compensate. Buy buying a smart you are going against the crowd and saying that you dont care what others think. That, my friend, is confidence. Chicks dig confidence. If you have the cash, get the Brabus kit and really make them green wit envy. And a sound system.

[pdboilermaker]

We are mostly a Jeep family, my oldest son (A HS senior) thought it would be cool to raise his Wrangler 6" and put on 44" tall tires. He said it would be cool. I warned him then with gas at $2.00/gal he wouldnt be able to drive the 46 mile round trip daily to school.

This summer, as we looked at it setting in the driveway with $4.00 + / gal gas. I reminded him how cool it looked as a driveway gnome. Too bad the only people that could see how cool it looked were those driving by the house

[2smartArizona]

I am a high school teacher, and many of my students talk about the vehicles they would like to have, and I try to explain to them that in most cases they are not being realistic about the future. What is fun about having a car, as a young person, is the ability to use it. A huge gas guzzling vehicle that spends its life parked for lack of fuel is no fun at all. Better to have something economical that uses less fuel and allows you to drive whenever you want.
Thing I have noticed too, is that many young people focus too much on what kind of vehicle they have and they really have very little knowledge of what good vehicles are or how to care for them. They are concerned about how others see them and are very self absorbed about how important they are in the eyes of others. You can spot them easily, they are the ones that check to see if they got any messages on their phones as soon as they walk out of class...they want to know if others thought them important enough to send them a message. Who cares what you drive? Is it really a reflection of who you truly are?
Don't let these other people pull you away from what you really want, which seems to be the smart, uh, intelligent type of vehicle, because honestly, once high school is over, you most likely will not see too many of those people again or care what they think about you and what you drive. While they are all sitting around the front yard admiring their huge truck (with empty gas tank) you will be going by on your way to some much more interesting destination, and then who cares what they think....they won't be there.

[jediknight36]

Originally Posted by 2smartArizona

I am a high school teacher, and many of students talk about the vehicles they would like to have, and I try to explain to them that in most cases they are not being realistic about the future. What is fun about having a car, asa young person, is the ability to use it. A huge gas guzzling vehicle that spends its life parked for lack of fuel is no fun at all. Better to have something economical that uses less fuel and allows you to drive whenever you want.
Thing I have noticed too, is that many young people focus too much on what kind of vehicle they have and they really have very little knowledge of what good vehicles are or how to care for them. They are concerned about how others see them and are very self absorbed about how important they are in the eyes of others. You can spot them easily, they are the ones that check to see if they got any messages on their phones as soon as they walk out of class...they want to know if others thought them important enough to send them a message. Who cares what you drive? Is it really a reflection of who you truly are?
Don't let these other people pull you away from what you really want, which seems to be the smart, un, intelligent type of vehicle, because honestly, once high school is over, you most likely will not see too many of those people again or care what they think about you and what you drive. While they are all sitting around the front yard admiring their huge truck (with empty gas tank) you will be going by on your way to some much more interesting destination, and then who cares what they think....they won't be there.

He has a good point. I tried to tell my brother this, a recent graduate. After high school, you all go your separate ways. My best friend from high school, I have not seen him since I got married 2 years after graduation. Thanks to MySpace, I keep loose touch with those I knew but life goes on. Besides, a mustang or scion will have much higher insurance rates. Go for the smart!

[BigWarpGuy]

When I told my sister that I was getting a Smart Fortwo, she thought I was out of my mind. I told that I was out of my mind even before I knew about the Fortwo. I had to send her photos that I could actually fit into my Fortwo. I am six foot tall and weigh over 300 lbs. There are photos of me at my home page (near the bottom).